This incredible rum cake recipe is made using from scratch ingredients (no mixes!) and is then SOAKED in a dark rum butter syrup that keeps it incredibly moist, rich and bursting with rum flavor. While it’s perfect for serving all year, this rum-soaked cake will be an absolute show stopper at holiday gatherings.
Several years ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Bermuda. We were lucky enough to stay at a gorgeous resort called The Reefs, with one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen.
The beach had white sand and turquoise water that was so clear I could see schools of fish swimming by my legs. This is probably Too Much Information, but that beach has become my “QUICK, FIND A HAPPY PLACE” location when I’m at the dentist.
Anyway, I don’t remember being especially blown away by the cuisine on that trip, even after researching where and what to eat. That’s probably because, with a few notable exceptions, almost everything in Bermuda is imported. However, the one thing I remember instantly falling in love with was Bermuda Rum Cake.
Rum cake is basically pound cake that’s been drenched in a rich, buttery rum syrup. It’s addicting, and I’ve wanted to make it at home ever since.
Imagine my surprise when most of the online recipes included either yellow cake mix and/or pudding mix! Even one of my most trusted stand-by sites for when I don’t know how to make certain baked goods from scratch, King Arthur Flour, has a rum cake using boxed pudding mix. Huh. Maybe that’s just traditional?
I mean, I have a yellow cake recipe that includes a rant about why homemade cakes are so much better than box mix cakes. Why would I use one here?
How to Make Rum Cake From Scratch
I try to avoid using boxed mixes; it’s a personal preference. There’s only one time I’ve caved, and that’s when I recreated my grandmother’s chocolate pistachio cake. Her recipe used boxed cake mix, pudding mix AND chocolate syrup, and I failed in my attempts to recreate the pistachio flavor until I added the pudding mix back in. I’m ok with it.
This time, it took a few tries to get it right, but it honestly wasn’t difficult to get a recipe that tasted like the Caribbean rum cake I had in Bermuda. I modified one of my pound cake recipes, adding rum and a bit of dark brown sugar, then I soaked it in syrup.
I’m very happy with how this rum cake recipe turned out, and I think you will be as well!
Recipe Notes
- While you can technically substitute spiced rum, I highly recommend using dark rum for the best flavor. My first attempt used spiced rum, and the flavor was much more subtle; not what I remembered. I recommend Goslings or Bacardi Black Rum. Goslings Black Rum is what you’ll find in Bermuda rum cake, so that’s what I used. Most of the alcohol is cooked out of the cake, FYI. Only the flavor remains.
- I often using baking spray with flour in my recipes. With bundt cakes, I recommend using shortening and a light coating of flour. I’m not a fan of Crisco (and I know many of you aren’t, either). I love Nutiva Organic Shortening, which is non-hydrogenated. Unsalted butter will also work. Use a thin layer. Bundt cakes are all about the pretty shape, so you want to avoid excess moisture against the surface pan, or the golden exterior might get mushy and stick.
- Speaking of excess moisture, don’t leave the hot cake in the pan any longer than necessary for the same reason.
- As this is a typical pound cake, it’s not uncommon to deal with separation on the side that’s exposed to the heating element in your oven. Luckily, that’s the bottom of a bundt cake! The most common cause of this is over-mixing. Southern Living has some great tips on common pound cake mistakes to avoid. However, the cake will be fine if this happens, especially once it’s soaked in syrup. The crusty edge will soften, and no one will know.
Rum Cake From Scratch
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 14 ounces all-purpose flour (approximately 2 3/4 cup)
- 2 ounces dark brown sugar (1/4 cup packed)
- 3/4 ounce cornstarch (2 1/2 tablespoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 8 ounces sour cream
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup dark rum (I recommend Goslings or Bacardi Black Rum)
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 8 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
- 18 ounces granulated sugar (2 1/2 cups)
- 4 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
For the rum syrup:
- 2 1/2 ounces unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons dark rum, divided
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Place an oven rack in the center position. Lightly but thoroughly grease a 12-cup bundt pan (I recommend using shortening or butter), then dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cornstarch, kosher salt, and baking soda. In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the sour cream, heavy cream, dark rum, and vanilla.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar together on medium-low speed for about 3-4 minutes, until the mixture starts looking less dense and more fluffy (this is a high sugar to butter ratio). Turn the mixer to high speed and cream for an additional 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs and yolks, one at a time, allowing each to incorporate before adding the next but without over-mixing. As soon as the egg has blended into the batter, move onto the next one. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple times during the process.
- With the mixer on medium-low speed, swiftly alternate between adding the dry and wet ingredients, starting and ending with the dry. This shouldn’t take more than 60 seconds total. Once the ingredients have been added, turn off the mixer and give a few good stirs with a spatula to make sure the ingredients are combined.
- Pour into the prepared bundt pan and level off the top with an offset or regular spatula. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a skewer comes clean from the center.
- While the cake is baking, prepare the rum syrup. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the butter, water, sugar, salt, 3/4 cup rum, and vanilla. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat while stirring periodically, then turn the heat to low and simmer for 6-8 minutes, until the syrup has thickened slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 or 2 remaining tablespoons of rum to taste (depending on how aggressive you want the rum flavor in the cake to be). Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert to a wire rack to cool almost completely, around 45 minutes. While the cake is cooling, clean and dry the bundt pan.
- Once the cake has cooled, fit the clean bundt pan on top of it and then gently turn the cake back over and remove the wire rack. Briefly whisk the syrup incase any separation has occurred. Use a skewer to poke several holes in the cake, then slowly and evenly top with the rum syrup, pausing as needed so it can absorb into the cake. Let the syrup soak for 1 hour, then turn the cake out onto a stand for serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
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I could literally eat all the pieces.
most beautiful bundt cake ever! love!
Gorgeous Jennifer! There’s nothing better than a delicious and easy bundt cake for the holidays!
You nailed it, looks amazing! Wish I had a slice or two this morning.
That’s one perfect cake! The texture looks so good!
Rum cake is just perfect for the holidays!
This couldn’t be more perfect! <3
Such a great holiday dish! I know my family will absolutely love this at our christmas party!
Oh man… this looks awesome!
this rum cake is perfect for the holidays!
This rum cake looks so gorgeous! What a great dessert for the holidays!
Recommend Rose Levy Beranbaum’s epic cake and baking books..she advocates Baker’s Joy spray, which is just soybean oil, lecithin, and flour suspended, it’s great for convoluted or fancy bundt pans as well as everything else. It works fantastically. Haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I will..
This cake is wonderful!!!!! The only change I’ll make in the future is to reduce the sugar a bit. I hope I don’t ruin it!!
I’m so happy to hear you liked it! It took me 3 times to get it right :) Be careful if you adjust the ratios. I wouldn’t reduce the sugar in the cake itself since that contributes to the structure. try reducing the amount in the syrup, just to be safe.
Can you make any recommendations on using this as a layer cake? Probably only 2 layers since it is so moist and I worry about it breaking or sliding. I am going to try 2×8 in round cake pans and hope that works but if you have any thoughts I would love to hear them. I will also have to altitude adjust since I live at 7k.
Hi Amanda, I am hesitant to recommend converting this to a layer cake due to the syrup, for exactly the reasons you mention. I suspect that the syrup would also potentially seep into the middle frosting layer, further destabilizing it. Here’s what you could try, though I’m not sure offhand about the conversion ratios for ingredients and bake time:
Without the rum syrup, this is essentially a pound cake. I would omit the syrup entirely, and instead use a rum frosting. You could use my Italian meringue buttercream to do this if you don’t mind an advanced frosting.
I would also try to find tutorials on how to convert a bundt cake into a double layer cake, just to make sure you have the right quantity of ingredients and bake time. It might be a very straight forward swap, but it never hurts to double check before using the ingredients!
This cake is awesome. The texture is dense and moist. There are crusty areas where the syrup congealed… everyone absolutely loved it! The instructions were perfect. Now I know I have been using the wrong type of rum. Thank you for all of the details.
Let me start by saying, I don’t bake. I mean, yes, I can whip up chocolate chip cookies, but baking a cake sends me into a cold sweat. But, I had a wild hair to make a Rum cake for Thanksgiving and chose your recipe. I am sooooo happy I did. I diligently followed your recipe and advice (okay, I snuck in 1/2 tsp of allspice for some holiday flair) and it was a huge success!! Oh my gosh. A-MA-ZING! A new holiday tradition! Thank-you.
I’m so glad you liked it!! Thanks so much for leaving a review :)
Will it work to substitute tapioca starch for the cornstarch?
I am so happy to meet another “ no boxed mix user.” I too will capitulate if pressed. Just scratch baking is much more satisfying. Happy Holidays
My Italian mother always made a spong rum cake with a lemon filling. It’s different from your recipe but it reminded me of it.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I love this recipe! thank you
That looks absolutely delicious and the cake is so moist. Love the combination of rum in here.
Thank you for the preparation tips. So helpful! The cake is beautiful and so delicious.
If I were to make this cake a day ahead. Would it be best to wait to soak it an hour before serving. Or would it be better to let it soak longer.
I’d follow the instructions as written. You can remove the cake from the bundt pan a day beforehand :)
Can’t wait to try it this week.
I can highly recommend this cake, very yummy!
Hiya!
I dont drink so I typically dont have liquor on hand. I do however have Myers Dark Rum from a previous cake I made , will that be okay in the recipe? Also , can I use light brown sugar or is there something I can do to make my light brown sugar dark ?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Jada! I rarely drink, so I get it. I tend to keep smaller bottles of alcohol on hand specifically for baking and ice creams. I tested this with assorted rums, and it definitely had the best, most pronounced flavor with dark rum. I didn’t use Myers, but since dark rum is similar to black, I think it will be fine. Brown sugars can almost always be used interchangeably, but I do think the light version will create a slightly less pronounced flavor. It will still work, though! If you happen to have molasses on hand, you can add a bit to the light brown sugar (pulse in a food processor) to create dark brown sugar. More on that here.
I am making this now. My husband says he will miss the crunchy glaze on top of the cake. Will it be okay to put half on the bottom, let it soak in, turn over, and then add half to the top? Or is the crunch inside completely satisfying? Thanks
Hi Cathy! I’m a little confused what you mean by the crunch inside? Before adding the rum syrup, this has a texture similar to pound cake. Once the syrup is added, it’s still a similar texture but with additional moisture.